Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "The Better Half"

In honor of this week's title, it's an all couples version of Three Up, Three Down.

Three Up

1. Henry and Betty Francis. At some fundraiser another member of the New York GOP propositions Betty (who is now all the way back to her old form, and then some), and Henry gets all turned on by this. But her enjoyment at being the future Mrs. Senator Henry Francis doesn't stop her from having a roll in the hay with Don while both are visiting Bobby at camp. She has a pretty interesting post-coital talk with Don, revealing that she's more or less over their history and that she feels badly for Megan, as the worst way to hold on to Don is to love him (which hits Don pretty hard, as he'd never made that connection). In the end, Betty is back with Henry and in wife mode and keeping Don at length, though one wonders how long that will last.

2. Bob Benson and Joan Harris.  The trip to the hospital has created some sort of friendship here, as Bob is now in her life enough to have a beach trip with Joan and Kevin. But it does get dicey when Roger drops in unannounced with a present for Kevin (the result of a disastrous day out with his grandson, more of which anon). Bob also learns from Joan about Pete's need of a nurse for his mother, and is able to give him a reference to a nurse who got his father back to health. They're on their way to making a cute couple, though after Joan tells Roger that he's not Kevin's father in any sense other than biological, Bob may want to get his resume in order.

3. Duck Phillips and Pete Campbell. And speaking of resumes, old friend Duck Phillips is back, now working as a headhunter. Pete's seeing him based on a conversation with Harry, coupled with Pete's concern of his position at the new firm. Duck sees this and talks about Pete's lack of position, but also hits on how the lack of clarity in Pete's personal life will prevent clarity in his work life (Duck claims a similar issue was his own downfall, though Pete does helpfully mention gin). It's a nice scene, and you can see Pete start to get things in order with getting his mother a nurse who she hopefully won't run off.

Honorable Mention. Harry Crane and his delusions. Harry still thinks he'll be a partner when all is said and done. He's holding on to that thought pretty tenaciously, not that it's going to get him anywhere.
 
Three Down

1. All of the men in her life and Peggy Olsen. Peggy's become the pawn in Don and Ted's battle at work, and while she's trying to stay out of it she's got Don telling her to pick a side and Ted trying to woo her. Home life isn't giving her a respite, as Abe got stabbed coming off the subway and refuses to cooperate with police, saying to Peggy that the muggers don't have a choice. He's also disappointed that Peggy would so readily take the cop's side. Later, though, after a broken window incident, Abe relents that moving to this part of the city may have been premature. He agrees to put the place back on the market. But before they can move out (and maybe even the same night?), Peggy accidentally stabs Abe with her kitchen knife on a pole when she thinks someone is breaking in. It's on the ambulance trip that Abe decides that he can't abide with Peggy's advertising work, that it stands against everything he believes and he can't get past that. This frees Peggy for Ted, but it turns out that their previous conversation about putting their kiss behind them has worked, as he treats her in a very professional matter. That he and Don are all congratulatory with each other over progress with Fleischman's only underscores how physically depleted Peggy looks at the end.

2. Don and Megan Draper. While Don is off in the woods getting it on with his ex-wife, Megan is trying to deal with playing two different characters on her soap (sisters) and getting little support from Don, who is more than happy to blow off Megan's problems (and her dinner) to watch TV. She glumly accepts this and turns to co-star Arlene for help. They chat a bit about Megan's concerns, but between the wine and Megan's helplessness, Arline takes it as a signal and kisses Megan. Megan, of course, doesn't play that way, and now has to worry that Arlene will cause trouble by talking about this with her husband, the soap's head writer. Arlene seems fairly put out by this, but puts on a brave face when she leaves. Megan does have a good heart to heart with Don about her concerns for their marriage and how she's trying to recapture what brought them together. Don agrees that they need to try to reconnect, though it's hard to tell how much of this is Don taking Betty's comment to heart and how much of it is Don being Don. 

3. Roger Sterling and all the women in his life. Roger opens the show by looking after his grandson. He ends it by having his daughter say he can only see his grandson under Mona's supervision, as the boy (4 years old) is having nightmares after seeing Planet of the Apes with Pop-Pop. This is what leads Roger to get a present for Kevin, but finding Bob Benson at Joan's, and then hearing from her that Glenn is Kevin's father, regardless of the biology, puts Roger in a difficult, but not wholly unfamiliar, place.

Honorable Mention. Bobby 2 and Bobby 5. Bobby Draper is Bobby 5 (due to the plethora of Bobbys at camp, I assume). He says hi to Bobby 2 across the restaurant, but doesn't get much of a reaction from him. I don't think Bobby 2 is that into you, Bobby 5.